I carry my backpack roughly half of the days I travel. My guiding principle is to minimize weigh, so that my pack is almost literally not a burden. Everything lives in my pack, and I have never had to stop to rest because of the stuff I carry.
It terrifies me to see the heavy lifters slogging through a train station – towering backpack, with loose boots hanging down, complemented by a loaded front sack worn on the chest, stuffed shopping bag held in the hand, and a jacket wedged through hip belt. It looks absolutely miserable. To be fair, many of these beautiful people are hard core camping (which I have given up), so have tents, sleeping bags, tarps and stoves with them. But many are hostel hopping and couch surfing, and have simply brought too much stuff.
I only carry things that I will use, and nothing that I ‘might’ use (okay, I do have 4 Benadryl tablets). As a result everything I have lives in my one pack – no cheating with an additional daypack or carryon – which weighs between 7 and 9kg. I can and do pick up my load with one finger. Having a light load makes nearly every day in motion better, more comfortable, faster, and easier. Be utterly ruthless when considering what you are carrying. Very occasionally, as when walking in the cold rain in Moscow, I will think ‘a coat would be nice to have’, and then recall the previous 29 days when I would have been dragging around extra weigh for no reason.
This extends to souvenirs and gifts. Since I do not have a home, I do not buy things that want to hang on walls or stand on shelves. If you see something small and light that would be ‘perfect’ for a dear friend, before you buy it think about how many weeks (months?) you will be carrying it around before you gift it. Then just walk away.
Everyone has at least one dirty little secret (I hope). Mine is books. They are bulky and heavy (and, when buying English language texts abroad, can be very expensive). But I just cannot enjoy reading on my iPad, probably because I tend to be reading in a bar or cafe and do not want to be showing anything bright and valuable that I might lose. So I bend my own rules to have at least one book in the bag. If you, like me, prefer analogue books, be sure to keep your eyes open as you walk around. Many hostels and some hotels maintain book swap shelves. Be prepared for a limited selection, which can encourage you to read ‘outside your genre’. My favorite was ‘Tied to a Sicilian’s bed’.
In a similar vein I usually carry a real bar of soap. Or, for the three months in Europe, invest in a Reidel glass. Location specific luxuries.
